Has anyone had a POP-UP problem? I get a pop-up window that tells me the adobe software I have is not a genuine adobe product.

[davidg22927617]

I haven't clicked on "more info" yet. Afraid it's phishing.

[John T Smith]

Read this for ideas Pirate software alerts ever 15 minutes.

[Terri Stevens]

I wonder if it is just coincidence that Adobe has started validation just when some big price increases are due to be introduced?

[Terri Stevens]

you are the third user in two days with this issue. The message does come from your Adobe software and can be very difficult to remove

[Michael J. Hoffman · Accepted solution]

This is indeed legitimate, although the circumstances and causes of its appearance have been confusing in some cases. You can find more information at this link, including frequently asked questions:

Adobe Genuine software

This could be a result of software that has been tampered or modified, or a licensing issue. In any case, you should try to reach Adobe for help in correcting the issues causing this pop up.

Mike

[indalia]

Legitimate, sure, but unnecessary and incorrect. It seems it's happening because we have older software, and is definitely a glitch. My software is licensed, and 'passing' all of the tests, but it's still popping up.

[Terri Stevens]

If you are certain your software is 'genuine' then contact Adobe at the link below via the 'chat' option. There are many cases of people buying fake versions of CS quite unaware they have been fooled into buying a pirated version -sometimes at full price. The validation checking is now picking up on those copies in the same way Microsoft detects fake versions of it's products and I'm afraid if your copy is one of those versions you'll have to accept you have been had.

However we did see last week that a small number of completely genuine customers have been identified during validation and this must reflect a glitch in the validation checking service. If you can prove ownership with an invoice or a registration of the software at Adobe, I would suggest first asking Adobe to confirm at their end your serial is genuine and with that confirmation 'demand' they issue a new serial for a tech to use by remote desktop to install. Adobe technical support is likely to take the view you have a phoney copy as that is the official company line and they don't look at this forum, Do not take no for an answer. If necessary take the operators name and shame them here as they have no right to deprive you the use of software as expensive as CS.

Contact Customer Care

[indalia]

Thanks! Contacting them now...I've no doubt about the software as it was purchased through Adobe  .

[carolinew44929163]

Hi,  were you able to contact them ? I can only get a link to live chat and the agent I got was clueless and ended the chat! Do you know a phone number I could call?

[Michael J. Hoffman]

Hi Caroline,

If you dismiss the first notification when it comes up, and wait for your second notification, the second one will have a link to an Adobe landing page - and that page will include a unique ID number to use as a reference and a number to contact the Adobe Genuine Helpline to call for assistance.

That's been the best way to get support for this issue.

Mike

[leehrose]

This just started to happen to a licensed, transferred copy of CS6.   I have been using this copy since Adobe validated the license and allowed the software to be installed as valid twice since the transfer in Sept 2014.  It was originally purchased on Ebay in the original box.  Going back to the seller 2 1/2 years ago is not an option.    I'm disgusted with Adobe having validated the serial and software several times until this week.   I can't help but think it's an obvious play at getting more people to upgrade to CC Cloud.   Since my license "Passed" on all the components of CS6 and show blanks in the tampering field of their "Non-Genuine Software" landing page, I called the number.   The (Indian) CSR asked for my email on my Adobe ID and then informed me that although the license was valid, that this was "Tampered Software".   I asked for a letter with some proof that this is tampered software and why it has been working fine and validated by Adobe 4x since Sept.   They sent me a "Cased Closed" notice.    Anyone up for a class action suit?

[davidg22927617]

Sounds great!!! I went directly to Adobe, not responding to the POP_UP and complained. It hasn't popped up since

[daniellev2017]

I'm in on a lawsuit! I have had it with these pop-ups on software I rightfully own! And NO HELP from Adobe. Only a your serial number isn't genuine and you need to go to the Cloud. BullS&*%! It is legit. And been working just fine for 5 years. I'm not renting software! This is not right! There has to be a lawsuit starting somewhere right?? I'm in if so!

Danielle V

[Terri Stevens]

There is no grand conspiracy to get you to switch to Creative Cloud. Adobe has a turnover of several billion dollars a year and it's unlikely they would make their name 'mud' for the sake of your $10 a month. What you are experiencing is a problem with a new anti-piracy system which in some cases gets false positives. You will need to work with the company in order to fix it. David__B is on staff at Adobe and experienced with this problem. Mentioning him here will attract his attention to this thread and hopefully he will be able to arrange assistance for you and  Magic_Murder_Bag

[bizz5@terryandterry.com]

From:

If you dismiss the first notification when it comes up, and wait for your second notification, the second one will have a link to an Adobe landing page - and that page will include a unique ID number to use as a reference and a number to contact the Adobe Genuine Helpline to call for assistance.

That's been the best way to get support for this issue.

Mike

Reply:

When you call the telephone number and give them the unique ID, you spend 20 minutes waiting, then they spend 20 minutes talking to you about the problem and refer you to the chat.  On the Chat they tell you the wait is 6 minutes, 40 minutes later a chat specialist comes on the line and asks you to describe the problem.  After another 10 minutes of chat he refers you to another chat specialist who once again asks you to explain the same problem you've already described in the previous chat.  Now the second chat disconnects you because they can't explain or solve the issue.  I have all the legal software, Adobe Acrobat proX, and CS 5.5  and CS 6,  and it was all purchased from Adobe and is registered on their website.  So there must be something wrong with Adobe's Customer Service.

[Beverley Gray]

Hi TH

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.  I'll ask the support team to follow up with you to check that the correct serial numbers are being used as your account has a couple of serial numbers that were cancelled and re-issued.

Kind regards

Bev

[carolinew44929163]

I have spoken to the support team, They insist that my software is not genuine even though I know it is! Even when I click on the link from the pop up page it says that my software scores a  "Pass", which according to the support website means the serial numbers are valid! I have had a number of emails since then from the "support team" trying to sell me software !!that's what this is about! They have no interest in supporting me of solving the issue, they only care selling me a subscription to the cloud! I expect this to be fixed!!!

[Beverley Gray]

Hi Caroline

I'll ask the support team to follow up with you.

Thanks

Bev

[carolinew44929163]

I need a phone number to call! I have tried calling customer service but there is nothing but a message saying that there is no support by phone and then a hang up! I have my original software disc and package including the email from adobe authorizing the software and issuing the serial number!

Removed personal info - please do not post your serial number in a public forum

[Terri Stevens]

Hi Caroline,

I think there are serious problems with the Adobe software validation service introduced last summer. Just recently there has been, to my count, 6 different people with this problem-so it isn't common, but for those affected that's no consolation. I don't think for a second that anyone who posts here is mad enough to ask an Adobe sponsored forum about fake software and so I think these are all likely to be problems with totally genuine software. If someone has purchased on eBay or in the Amazon third party retail channel it is possible they have been sold pirated versions without realising, but anyone with an Adobe invoice has definitely the real thing.

So far I have only seen one person have this problem solved. What we advised then was talking with a tech on the 'Chat' console -make sure you get their name. Tell them you have proof of ownership and an Adobe registration if you have one. Tell them the Adobe forum says this is a known issue and a new serial number is required. A technician should then remote desktop to your machine to remove the problematic version and do a fresh install with the new serial number. If they refuse to do that and simply say your software is invalid please advise the tech you have been advised to return here so that we can take this further with more senior Adobe personnel. Don't get angry with the techs as they are just following an Adobe script and even now the official company line is the validation service is infallible, when it is clearly not. You could also request the tech to have their line manager help you.

[WBoswell]

I did read on this website about the popup warning and it is legitimate.  There are two resellers at Amazon who are reselling discontinued software (CS2) that is probably bootleg.  Adobe probably cannot detect it since activation was discontinued years ago and the product key is the same for everybody.  I remember when everybody online said Adobe was giving CS2 away when they were not.  Two resellers are making a nice profit for something they don't even own.  I already reported it because I hate scammers and their descriptions are highly suspicious.

I still use Photoshop CS6 and Acrobat 11 and so far haven't had any popups.  All of my Adobe software was purchased either on the Adobe website or through an authorized and legitimate seller.  Recently I purchased Microsoft software from what I thought was a legitimate reseller since I ordered from them before with no problems.  They sold me counterfeit software then stole my credit card information which was circulated across the world.  I reported them and now they are under investigation.  I don't like to see people get scammed because it has happened to me a few times and I'm usually careful.

Because I was having numerous Windows 10 problems that required me to reinstall and reactivate several times, I'm always worried that my activation limit might have been reached by now.  So far I haven't gotten any Adobe messages.

[Beverley Gray]

Hi Caroline

The support team will contact you to get this resolved.

Thanks for your patience.

Kind regards

Bev

[indalia]

So I contacted support a few weeks ago when this first happened to me, and after going through 2 techs (both confirming my software is legitimate), they instructed that I reinstall the software and the problem would go away. Surprisingly, it worked. Well, just this week, guess what's started happening again? Yep, the lovely pop up. There needs to be a PERMANENT FIX to this problem, I shouldn't have to uninstall/reinstall software every week??

[WBoswell]

I know you'd hate to do this, but you might have to do a complete reset of your computer to wipe out anything that might be buried deep in your operating system.  Obviously something was left behind for it to happen to you again.

I've done so many resets on my last computer because of suspected malware that would not go away.  Windows 10 doesn't help much because it forced updates that messed up my computer so many times.  I eventually had to get rid of that laptop, but my problem was different since somebody I knew obviously planted malware on my recovery partition so the problem kept coming back.  It could be in your case that something is hidden on your hard drive and nothing will find it and get rid of it.

If you do reset your system just make sure you backup everything.  Besides data backups I also do system backups of the entire drive just in case a reset causes problems with activating software.  At least you can always go back, but the problem will probably still be there.

[Terri Stevens]

Good advice William. I would recommend anyone to create a disk image of their entire system with all the programs and not to rely heavily on a recovery partition as all that covers is the operating system. Obviously it requires a little work but considering how long it takes to fully restore a system is well worth while.

I use Acronis Trueimage on a stand alone CD. It can be used from within the operating system as well, but then it needs to play clever tricks to backup locked files and overcome permission issues. It also takes a lot longer from within the OS. All you need to do is boot the computer from the CD or memory stick (of course you need to have one) and it backs up and verifies an entire system in 20 minutes (backup is to the hard disk as a file). Restoring is even quicker around 12 minutes in my case.

The issue with validation isn't common fortunately, but I would urge anyone who experiences it and can prove their software is genuine to press tech support very hard to issue a fresh serial number-otherwise it just comes back.